Building Codes

History of Building Codes

Building Codes go back to approximately 1772 BC, when the Babylonian emperor, Hammurabi, enacted Building Codesthe Code of Hammurabi. Incidentally, here are those codes – or laws – that pertain to construction:

  • 229 – If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.
  • 230 – If it kills the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.
  • 231 – If it kills a slave of the owner, then he shall pay, slave for slave, to the owner of the house.
  • 232 – If it ruins goods, he shall make compensation for those goods, and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.
  • 233 – If a builder builds a house for someone, even though it is not yet complete; if then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means.

Steps in Unifying the Codes

In the early 1700’s AD, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson pushed for the development of Building Codes to provide minimum building standards for the health and safety of citizens. Then, in the early 1900’s, Insurance Companies, in an effort to reduce property loss claims from improper construction, lobbied for further development of codes.

The Building Officials and Code Administration (BOCA) was established in 1915 and developed the BOCA National Building Code (BOCA/NBC). Primarily, this code was used and enforced in the Northeastern United States. The International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), established in 1927, developed the Uniform Building Code (UBC), primarily used in the Midwest and Western United States. Finally, in 1940, the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) was established, and it developed the Standard Building Code (SBC), which was primarily used in the Southern United States.

Where are the Codes Today

In 1994, representatives from BOCA, ICBO, and SBCCI began the process of developing a comprehensive code to use nationally. The First Edition of the IBC (from 1997), updates every three years.

The current International Code Council codes are:

  • Building Codes
    • Building Code
    • Existing Building Code
    • Green Construction Code
    • Zoning Code
  • Mechanical/HVAC Codes
    • Mechanical Code
    • Energy Conservation Code
  • Plumbing Building Codes
    • Plumbing Code
    • Private Sewage Disposal Code
    • Fuel Gas Code
  • Fire Building Codes
    • Fire Code
  • Residential Building Codes
    • Residential Code
  • Other Codes
    • ICC Performance Code
    • Property Maintenance Code
    • Swimming Pool and Spa Code
    • Wildland Urban Interface Code

Additionally, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes a number of Codes and Standards including:

    • National Electrical Code® – NFPA 70
    • Health Care Facilities Code – NFPA 99
    • Life Safety Code® – NFPA 101
    • Building Construction and Safety Code – NFPA 5000

Building Codes

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Life Safety Systems

This blog post will discuss how to incorporate some Life Safety Systems knowledge into your exam preparation.

So…how is your exam prep coming along?

“When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

Even though a weekend may be at hand, don’t let up on preparing for the exam. There will be plenty of weekends after you become a Licensed Professional Engineer.

However, do yourself a favor…

Take some time – and in the weeks to come – to decide for yourself what truly makes you happy. What will you be proud of at the end of your life? What will you regret not having done? Make a list of all the things you want to:

  • Be: What kind kind of person – friend, parent, neighbor, engineer – do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered? What legacy do you want to leave?
  • Do: What adventures do you want to have? Do you want to travel? Sky-dive? Scuba-dive? Save the rain forests? Feed the hungry? What would make you “feel alive?”
  • Have: What material things do you want? A bigger house? A sports car? A boat? Abundant resources to help the needy? These things can be “trophies” or “toys.” Or they can be resources to benefit others.

Give yourself this time to decide in advance what you want to accomplish in your life. What does success look like to you? Don’t get to the end of your life only to “discover that you never lived.”

Now for the Life Safety System information…

The Uniform Building Code and the Life Safety Code – NFPA 101 – are the two primary resources we will focus on in this post. Keep in mind that the National Electrical Code, NFPA 13, and other Codes and Standards contain Life Safety information.

Life Safety SystemsAction Items:

  1. Get a copy of the International Building Code®. Tag or make copies of sections that relate to Life Safety Systems. At a very minimum:
    • Special Detailed Requirements Based on Use and Occupancy (Chapter 4)
    • Types of Construction (Chapter 6)
    • Fire and Smoke Protection Features (Chapter 7)
    • Fire Protection Systems (Chapter 9)
    • Means of Egress (Chapter 10)
  2. Get a copy of NFPA 101 – The Life Safety Code®. Tag or make copies of sections that address issues like:
    • Generators
    • Batteries
    • Exit Lighting
    • Fire Alarms
  3. Look through NFPA 13 for items directly related to Life Safety Systems

Add a section in your Test-Prep Resource Library©* for Life Safety Systems. Put these items – and others you discover as you prepare – in this section.

*NOTE: As per the NCEES Examinees Guide, books, notes, notebooks, etc. are no longer permitted in the testing room. This does not diminish the importance of a Test-Prep Resource Library© as a method of study and preparation. Taking the time to assemble a resource library will naturally help you categorize and document your study materials, help you determine what’s essential to pass the exam, and keep all your resources in one easy-to-access tool.


Life Safety Systems

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Copyright©  All Rights Reserved

EngineeringDesignResources.com prohibits the use or reproduction of this material by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This includes photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system.

Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, web addresses or links in these materials may have changed.

Any resemblance in the images in this material to actual people or locations is merely coincidental. EngineeringDesignResources.com prohibits reprinting, copying, changing, reproducing, publishing, uploading, posting, transmitting, or using in any other manner images in this material.